Childhood on Veldin
by Reyaumbra
Summary: What happened to Ratchet while he was a child on Veldin? Hopefully this story answers some of these questions...
1. Disclaimer!

DISCLAIMER!

I do not own anything in the Ratchet and Clank Universe. They belong to Insomniac Games.

I will SPECIFICALLY state if any of the characters/planets/etc are of my creation.

Just sayin'...


	2. Epilogue

_**/A.N. Crap title I know XD but it's surprisingly accurate./**_

_Bang bang bang bang!_

Elizabeth Spinster sighed and set her reading glasses down, replacing them with the comically large pair that was for normal use. The insistent knocking at the door seemed to grow more desperate with every passing second. With tremendous effort, she heaved herself into a standing position and limped as fast as her elderly frame would allow her. She pulled at the heavy duty locks that protected the orphanage from the nasty bitey things that lived outside. The door swung open.

"Oh thank you thank you!" A young-ish male Lombax (perhaps late twenties, early thirties?) stood in front of her, shaking, bleeding badly and holding something in his arms. "Please look after my son! I don't know how long I'll be gone, or if I'll even come back, but please! Look after him!"

Eliza took the 'something' and held him tightly to her huge bosom, and her maternal instincts took over. She gazed down at the little bundle of fluff in her arms, and her face softened. He was so tiny (from what she could tell)… by her vague judgements he was only about half the length of a ruler. His long fluffy ears that looked like they would over-balance him drooped as far as they would go. His eyes looked to big for his little face, and were the clearest emerald green she had ever seen. On his face was a fiercely worried, frightened expression.

"Is…is he meant to be this small?" She blurted out. Eliza knew little about Lombaxes and their general looks, but this one seemed so abnormally _tiny…._

"Oh…. He was two months early." He bowed his head. "Here…" The Lombax practically thrust a cheque for 2000 bolts and an over-sized Omni-Wrench 8000 into her free right hand (all Veldinians are left handed). "Give the wrench to him when he's old enough. I have to go now." He started to hurry away, limping heavily on an injured leg.

"Wait! At least let me get you some nanotech…" She called after him.

"There's no time. Thank you so much!" He called. How odd…

Eliza closed and re-locked the door. The infant in her arms blinked at her, and his little pink mouth opened in a fearful squeak, showing tiny needle sharp teeth. She smiled sadly down at him, and jiggled him gently in her arm.

"Let's find you somewhere to sleep," She said softly, and purposefully marched down the corridor to an airing cupboard, from which she took a small fleecy blanket and various other items of bedding. She made her way back to her own room, and settled the child into a makeshift bed in the corner. He fell asleep almost instantly, his tail drooping over his face. With each breath he exhaled, he blew the tuft forward and back. She smiled.

"Oh… he didn't tell me your name!" Eliza suddenly thought out loud. Suddenly she took proper notice of the wrench she was grasping in her right hand and smiled again. She leaned forward and kissed the sleeping baby on the forehead. "Goodnight…..Ratchet."


	3. Chapter 1

_**/A.N. hiya! I will be posting the chapters.. well... whenever I finish them basically XD/**_

_5 years later…._

A young Lombax sat on the doorstep, watched and the small group of children played some sort of game that seemed to be a cross between tag and wrestling in the dust nearby the orphanage. It looked like such fun… but it was very unlikely that they would let him play.

It was worth a shot though. He got to his (bare) feet and began to shuffle towards the group of children; his knees knocking and his tail twitching nervously. The children stopped playing and stood in a defensive line, staring with raised eyebrows at the Lombax cub. He rubbed behind his right ear, in a perfectly explainable nervous tick.

"Uh, h-hey guys," He whispered quietly, shuffling in the dirt.

The largest of the group stepped forward with crossed arms, glaring threateningly at the cub. He was huge and muscular Blarg, even at seven years old. He was a giant to even the other children, but practically towered over Ratchet, at 4"6.

Ratchet recognised him as 'Mort Redback', and cringed. Mort leaned forward so he was almost eye level with Ratchet, who instinctively took a step back.

"What, titch?" He growled, his piggy little eyes narrowing so far they practically disappeared into his face.

Ratchet winced as the Blarg's gooey spit sprayed over his face, sticking to his fur.

"Um," the cub hesitated, contemplating backing off. Then again, he'd got this far. What did he have to loose? "I was w-w-wondering… if I could y'know… p-play?"

"You? Play with us!? Why would we let a little titch like you play!?" Mort's eyes widened in amusement, and he threw back his head and laughed, showing jagged yellowed teeth. The posse behind him instantly copied him; unclear on what they were laughing at exactly…

Ratchet shuffled slightly, and summoned the last of the courage in his little body.

"Finished yet?" He muttered uneasily, keeping his emerald coloured eyes firmly fixed on the dusty floor.

Mort stopped laughing immediately, and adopted the same, well practiced position as before; yet again patronising the small stature of the Lombax.

"Excuse me?" He whispered dangerously, clamping one large hand over Ratchet's left ear and twisted slightly. The other he wrapped around Ratchet's tail. The Lombax let out a yelp of pain- Lombax ears and tail, are their weakest points.

"I-I-I," Ratchet felt his stammer return as his eyes began to burn hotly. He bowed his head. "N-nothing…."

Mort smirked. "Thought not." He let go of Ratchet's ear and shoved him in the back, keeping his hand tightly grasping his tail. The momentum shoved the cub forward several feet, yanking out a small but painful chunk of hairs from his tail tuft. The whole group let out howls of mirth.

Refusing to let the bullies see him cry, he yanked his tail from the Blarg's vice like grip. He started to run, but tripped over his own feet and fell over, winding himself in the process. Of course, this made the group laugh harder. Tears stinging his eyes, the Lombax rounded a few more corners, dust flying up around him as his feet hit the ground, until he caught sight of the familiar sturdy tree that leaned over the edge of the steep hill. A fallen branch that had been there as long as Ratchet remembered was the perfect hoist. He jumped on top of it, and began to lithely claw himself up the tree, where he arranged himself in a crouching position on the largest branch that reached furthest. Shrouded by crisp brown leaves, he hugged his knees to his chest and finally let the tears fall.

_**/A.N. Poor Ratchet... XD I always seem to torture him in my stories... I just wanna hug him ;n;/**_


	4. Chapter 2

_**/A.N. Yay! A long one :D took me about four hours to write, so it's not perfect x I have the next chapter's basic idea stashed away in my head for when the 'creative flare' presents itself again, lol./**_

With effort, Ratchet gathered himself again. The cub blinked a few times, and gave his eyes a final wipe, rubbing fiercely at the wet fur on his cheeks.

He took a small gadget from his back pocket, and a screwdriver he had taken from Miss Spinster's tool cupboard (where she stored various cooking and cleaning objects, and he had found a small tool box in there after being locked there by Mort and his gang, covered in dust and cobwebs; assuming they would never be used by Miss Spinster herself, he had taken them and hidden them in his room) from the other and began to fiddle with it. This calmed him down considerably.

After a while, he replaced the objects and began to climb back down the tree, not needing to look where the notches and branches were. There were two reasons for this- one; he had climbed this so often he knew the tree almost as well as the orphanage. Two; he wasn't sure. He guessed it was instinct.

Ratchet squinted at the sudden light as his feet touched the dusty ground. Veldin was not a particularly sunny planet. The nights were cold, and days were moderate temperature.

The Lombax rubbed at the fur on his arms; the temperature had dropped slightly, indicating that it was more or less evening, or at least late afternoon. The cooling air hammered his damp face, but he was relieved to find that the direction of the orphanage was south of the wind direction.

**Back at the Orphanage**

****Miss Spinster pushed her spectacles further up her snub nose. With an exasperated sigh, she leaned closer than she would have liked to the bubbling stew to see the recipe book that she had placed with abandon far too close to the flame. She gave a hiss as the meal spat at her and a boiling hot glob of stew landed on her snout. She gave a contempt sniff and glowered at it, rubbing at her nose. She gave it a final stir, before heaving it off the fire.

She ladled a fair portion into each bowl (19 in total, 18 for the children and one for herself) and started to take them into the kitchen and place them on the table.

It was at that moment that Ratchet opened and closed the large door that served as the main entrance and exit for the Orphanage.

He noticed immediately that she was struggling and rushed to help her, supporting her elbow with his shoulder and taking a couple of the bowls from her. Miss Spinster smiled down at him. He was being more of a nuisance than a help, but she appreciated the fact that he was trying.

"Ratchet, go sit down with the others," She goaded him gently. He opened his mouth to protest, hesitated and nodded, looking resigned. Miss Spinster couldn't help noticing with a frown that his ears seemed to droop slightly as he took a seat next to the rest of the children.

She deliberately sat the other end of the table so she could observe without being too obvious. She simply watched from the corner of her eye. With approval, she noted how he ignored the jeers, pokes and prods of Beevus (Mort's second in command) and Atina (third). Ratchet's head was bowed over his bowl, and he waited until the bullies got bored and left him alone. He looked up then with relief, and Miss Spinster noticed that he kept his arms and eyes down on his lap. She thought she noticed the flash of her old screwdriver and what looked like a mini comm-chip, and raised an amused eyebrow. His ears occasionally made spasmodic twitches, a sure sign that he was either concentrating, angry or upset. Lombaxes were well known for their machinery and inventing. She was curious to see what he would actually do to the little thing. It had been broken for years. He was young… but maybe this was something he could concentrate on? Train for? Something that would keep him out of the way of Mort, Atina, Beevus and that lot. Considering when she should ask the cub, she decided to wait until the time presented itself.

**/A.N/ Next chapter will be up when it's finished :D REVIEWS PLEASE ^^ Contructive critiscism/questions/corrections are also greatly appreciated 3 Now I'm going to bed... *snore*/**


	5. Chapter 3

_**/A.N. Chapter 3 and 4 were originally one chapter, but I split them to avoid confusion x/**_

Two Years later, Ratchet had grown tired of being constantly bullied by Mort, Atina and Beevus. In those short two years, while rarely doing anything too physically damaging, the jeering taunts hit home every time, skewering yet another scar in his heart.

One of Mort's favourite taunts was to mock Ratchet's appearance, his small, skinny stature, remarking on the way his baggy t-shirt hung off of his bony shoulders. His next favourite, while not used so often, was to repeatedly yell that his parents must not have cared about him at all, having never visited in the seven years he had been in the orphanage.

Miss Spinster had punished them, yes. But she didn't always find out, and she couldn't be everywhere at once.

It pained her to have to watch the young Lombax recede further and further into himself. But, no matter how many punishment she doled out, nothing could heal the scars.

Every time he recoiled at something, it felt as if her own heart was being torn in two. She sighed.

When she could stand it to longer, she decided to take action.

One day, when he was six-and-a-half, she knocked on the door to his room, and entered. Ratchet was simply staring out the window, a far-away look in his eyes.

"Ratchet?" He turned around and gave her a watery smile. "I have something to give you," She gulped, and shivered slightly with the drama of the moment, holding something behind her back.

"Y-your father told me," She began. "To give this to you. When you were ready." She withdrew an oversized Omni-Wrench 8000, and dropped it into Ratchet's hands. Miss Spinster suppressed a girlish giggle as she saw the disbelief etched across his young features. Suddenly, his mouth stretched into a large grin, and with as much force as a speeding bullet, wrapped his thin arms around Miss Spinster's upper thighs (That was all he could reach up to) and hugged her tight. He said nothing, but the gratitude in his green gaze was enough for her.


	6. Chapter 4

**_Another year and a half later, Ratchet is now approaching more or less 9 years old_**

Miss Spinster collected Atina and Mort's empty bowls, raising a scaly eyebrow at the little Lombax.

He had long since finished eating, but was yet again fiddling with something. She sighed- four years later, same situation.

Ratchet slipped the gadget into his pocket, excusing himself.

"Oh no, you don't!" Miss Spinster tapped him on the shoulder. He spun around, dropping the small tool he held in his hand in fright.

The Veldinian woman beckoned her three-fingered hand for him to follow. Bemused, but willing enough to comply, Ratchet followed her into the kitchen.

Hmm… She turned around quickly. Ah ha!

"Uh…the blender isn't working." She said feebly.

He looked surprised, and his confused expression deepened. "Yes it is! You used it this morning!"

Darn it. That, she had.

"Didn't,"

"Did!"

"_Didn't!"_

"_Did!"_

_"D-"_

Miss Spinster stopped herself. She was having a childish '_Didn't Did' _Argument with a nine year old. She glowered, and put her hands on her hips. Darn darn DARN! That Lombax didn't miss a thing.

Ratchet walked up to the blender and pressed the button. The long blades inside spun consistently. "See?"

Thinking quickly, she suddenly pretended to gasp, and pointed out the window.

"Look! A Leviathan!"

"What?!" He turned around in disbelief. Miss Spinster acted quickly, grabbing a nearby kitchen utensil and sweeping the blender onto the floor, where the plastic casing on the bottom cracked, exposing the broken machinery.

"It broke again," She insisted, amused. It took all of her self control not to laugh at the expression on the Lombax's face!

"Yes it did," He simply muttered, wide eyed.

Miss Spinster smirked, and scooped up the rather battered remains of the blender and held them out to the Lombax. His jaw hung open slightly with shock, and took them.

"Do you think you can fix it?" She enquired challengingly.

Realisation dawned for him. "Oh! Yeah, of course!" He blushed slightly, invisible to the naked eye; one of the pros of having fur. "I'll try anyway…." He murmured, already inspecting the blender.

Miss Spinster ruffled the fluffy fur on the top of his head, and ushered him out of the door.

"Come find me when it's done, or if you need help," She called after him. Once he was safely out of earshot, she gave in and leaned against the work surface, laughing uncontrollably.

_**/A.N. I wuv Miss Spinster :D I think she is fast becoming one of my favourite OCs XD/**_


End file.
